Learning From the Masters, Part 2

A few years ago I went to China with my dojo. I was one of almost 500 students that descended on the little town of Dengfeng and pretty much overran the place. One of our escorts was Master Charles Mattera, 10^th degree black belt. He's getting older, and isn't as spry as he used to be, but he did a few seminars for us in the early morning, China fog/pollution, and I'll always remember two things he said.

If you're being attacked, circles and elbows are your best friends.

Sounds strange, I know, but I've never forgotten it.

Elbows are the freight train of the human body, and if you put the right power into it, you can fold a 350 pound man made of pure muscle in half, breaking ribs and leaving him with a punctured lung. And let's be honest, who wants to get hit in the face with even an accidental elbow shot?

Circles are good to do when someone has a hold of your arm or hand. They expect you to pull away, but when you make a big circle with your arm, you'll eventually get to the point where their grip is weak and you can get out of it. It's not quite that simple, but that'll do for now.

Little things. One sentence that Master Mattera spoke that I caught and then watched him prove its truth.

A few weeks ago I attended Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. Mette Ivie Harrison was my class leader for the morning classes. She spewed about a thousand gold nuggets about writing, and I tried to write them all down. At one point she took the time to go through two paragraphs of the novel I sent and literally showed me how I could make the actual writing more interesting.

That was on day one. I then spent the rest of the time noticing her using the same technique in suggestions for other people. I watched for it and now I might even understand it!

Circles, elbows and interesting writing. Keep your ears and eyes open because you never know when a master is going to give you the tidbit you need to take your writing to the next level.

Insignia

By S.J. Kincaid

More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.

Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him? (From Amazon)

Why did I read this book again?

I saw an endorsement for this book on Molly O’Neill’s blog.  She’s the editor, and said that the friendship of the characters in this book kept her laughing and happy all the way through the book (I’m paraphrasing, and probably getting some of it wrong). So I got on Amazon and read the blurb above and went and bought the book.  Science fiction and great characters?  Yes please.

5 out of 5

Characters

So Molly O’Neill raved about the characters, and I’d have to say that she wasn’t exaggerating.  Tom is an adorable underdog that starts out looking like the quintessential 14 year old boy—scrawny and  plastered with acne.  The friends he makes at the Spire are not only hilarious, but loyal.  If you want me to love a book, write about loyal friends.  I didn’t think the adults took nearly as active of a roll as they really would have (you know, if this wasn’t a book and all that), and a few of them fell a little flat, but that’s not who the story is about.

4 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes.  Tom presents an interesting view on life, after having come from a drifter childhood into the coolest gaming center in the country.   Like I said, the characters were loyal and  all had me hoping everything turned out okay.

4 out of 5

Plot Holes

Nothing big here.  To finish the thought I had above, these kids are not technically military, but they are run by the military, and I felt like they were in Hogwarts instead of what should be the most secure location on the planet—trouncing around, getting in trouble and cursing one another, just without the magic wands.  So the adults don’t take much of a roll, which is okay in an YA book, but I felt they should have at least had some presence.

4 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

There was one section that I thought was okay for the plot, but it drug the pacing down, and never really came to the fruition I was hoping it would.  The whole situation was extremely serious, but didn’t play much of a roll later, and it could have.

4 out of 5

Cool Factor

Uh, kids controlling ships in space with a computer that the military put in their brains, fighting for the rights of corporations on the other planets in the solar system…cool.  Making other kids act like chickens with computer viruses…awesome.  And their training program for physical fitness cracked me up.

4 out of 5

The End

Good and bad.  Everything wrapped up nicely, but it didn’t feel quite deserved or real.  The climax worked, but the very last few chapters…maybe they dragged a bit.  I’m not totally sure—I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Still, that doesn’t keep me from recommending this book if you like YA sci-fi that’s fun and adventure filled.

4 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

In general I really liked this book!  It made me laugh out loud a few times, and even though the end didn’t grip me, I was totally annoyed that my car was ready when I only had about 5 pages to go.  Since when can Discount Tire put new tires on in less than 30 minutes.  Why do you think I brought the book?

Sorry, back to the story.  Great technology, and I liked that the political system was all about business, not governments.  Very interesting, but not too in your face.

A sort of Ender’s Game at Hogwarts with computer virus duels.  Take that!

5 out of 5

Score=34

That's a Brown Belt!

Learning From the Masters

Every once in a while the masters of my Kempo system will come from California to Utah and put on a seminar. I do my best to not miss them, because they're mind-blowingly awesome.

And I'm not just saying that because someone might read this and decide I'm not humble enough and come remind me that I'm really a white belt.

Watching the masters move is like getting listening to a symphony—there's so much going on that it's hard to catch it all. How did the seventh degree black belt get from here to there and how many times did they hit that guy before he hit the ground? Master Awesome will show us a move that ends spectacularly, and while I can appreciate the move in its entirety, my mind is still back on how in the world he got behind his opponent. How did that foot work go again?

After having spent almost three weeks at writing conferences over the past two months (yes, it has been a good year) I feel much like I do when I go to a Masters Seminar for Kempo.

Wow. Wowzers. Double Dog Wow-wowzers.

I've listened to, chatted with, laughed at, laughed with, cried because of and stood in awe of a handful of amazing writers. They all have different perspectives on writing and publishing, which makes them all invaluable assets to those of us who are still trying to figure out how it all works.

My mind is still swimming in the information I tried to digest during these three weeks. It's impossible to sort through it and figure out what I need right now. So instead, I gathered my notes and put them away. I thought back to the bits of information that really struck me, whether it be on the craft or business of writing, and I'm trying to incorporate them. If they struck me, and I still remember them, then they must be my next step to being a better and successful author.

Get that footwork right, and just maybe the next few punches will come naturally.

The Amazing Spiderman

Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. 

Yes, I have to admit that Spiderman is one of my favorites. I liked the previous trilogy (well, the first two) but was excited to see a re-boot on it. In my Kung Fu fantasy world, I'm a great warrior, but always toss out horrible banter during fights because it relaxes me and is distracting to my opponents. I think I get that from Spiderman. Unfortunately, we wear mouth guards in sparring class, so the witty banter sounds like someone chewing on a piece of gun the size of a hamburger bun. Spidy doesn't have that problem...

Why did I come to this movie again?

Because I wanted to see the new Spiderman!

5 out of 5

Characters

I feel like this movie was well cast. I can't think of a single character that felt out of place or at all wrong. Everyone got their fair share of emotional upheaval. I was surprised that they left Peter Parker in high school, but I think it worked for this film. If not for a guy in my writing group I would have no idea who Gwen Stacey was, and I'm afraid of what will happen to the poor girl.

5 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes, I cared what happened. I even cared about the bully when Peter decided to beat him up a little bit. (Okay, I cheered inside, but still knew it wasn't a very nice thing to do.) I loved the conversation Peter has with the police commissioner about Spiderman being a vigilante—both sides to the issue and presented very well.

4 out of 5

Plot Holes

I honestly can't think of anything huge. They didn't make it clear if Spidey could heal faster than normal humans, which I kind of wanted to know and thought was important. Then again, I've never read the comics (just Saturday morning cartoons and movies) so maybe he doesn't. I can't remember. Oh, and I'm not sure he really could have gotten into the spider room like he did. That part did make me roll my eyes.

4 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

None.

5 out of 5

Cool Factor

I really liked how they put a few new twists on this origin story. The skate board cracked me up, and I loved the first scene where he was trying to figure out his powers. The webs went back to being mechanical rather than coming out of Spidey, which I think is closer to the original story. Whoever choreographed the fight scenes did an awesome job with using the webs in every aspect of the battle, which my not so inner Kung Fu fan girl squealed about. And although there was a lot of CGI going on, I didn't feel beaten down with it, which was nice.

5 out of 5

The End

Mostly I liked the end. I was a bit upset with Peter Parker when he decides to go back on his promise, but wasn't surprised. The thing is, why then? Like with Batman, they didn't show me this switch, so I didn't get it.

4 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I liked! Great lines (both funny and profound), awesome cast, a moment that made me tear up and I wanted to clap at the end. A good movie.

5 out of 5

Score=37

That's a Black Belt!

Flexibility, Round 3

This round I’m going to talk about training.

Everyone’s lives are busy.  Be it family, friends, a demanding job (or two), time consuming hobbies (oh, I don’t know, like writing novels), a money pit of a house, community events, volunteering or World of Warcraft, schedules are full and free time is tight.

I’m a black belt. I should be practicing way more than I do.  WAY more.  But I don’t. Not because I don’t want to, or because I think it’s a waste of time, but because there are always a fleet of other demands in my life that weasel their way in first.  Most recently the biggest contender has been writing.

When presented with the choice of practicing Kung Fu or writing, I usually chose writing.  Not always, but usually.  Neither option is bad, but I can’t do both at once.

But recently I’ve made a goal to go over whatever I learned in my private lesson once a day.  That way maybe I won’t forget so much between lessons.  And it doesn’t take long.  If no one is in the bathroom at work, I can do it there.  Oh relax, I’m saying that to lead to a point.

Time is precious, and I personally don’t want to waste a bunch of it, so I’ve started to think outside the box with both Kempo and writing.

For writing, I’m trying to figure out when I can squeeze a little bit of outlining in every day.  I could take fifteen minutes right after I get up, do it during lunch at work, talk into a recorder while I drive or when I go walking.

Writing comes to a grinding halt when I haven’t properly outlined and thought through my story, so I’m hoping that this will help keep me going.  If none of the above options work, I’ll get more creative.

So remember to be flexible and keep your mind open to random, bizarre possibilities.  You never know when you’ll find a few precious minutes to jot down an idea.

The Three Musketeers

Synopsis:

The hot-headed young D'Artagnan along with three former legendary but now down on their luck Musketeers must unite and defeat a beautiful double agent and her villainous employer from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war.

After seeing the air ships in the previews, I was not anxious to see this movie. A friend told me it was “terrible”, but I'm not going to lie, with the promise of Orlando Bloom and plenty of fighting, we picked it up from Redbox a few nights ago.

Why did I come to this movie again?

Men fighting, intrigue, possibly horrible dialog and plenty of explosions. I'm in.

4 out of 5

Characters

The point of these characters is that they will do anything for one another. I didn't catch that until the very end of this movie. Maybe that was the journey, but the writers didn't make that clear (I thought) at the beginning. And D'Artagnan never did figure out what kind of a cool guy he was. Frankly there was too much action and not enough character development. If I didn't already know the story, I probably wouldn't care at all about anyone in this movie.

3 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Only because I knew the characters before we started. I admit that the tension level remained high throughout the movie, so I didn't get bored.

3 out of 5

Plot Holes

Uh...mass production of floating air ships? And they made them off a a single piece of paper that had maybe eight notes on it??? Sorry, the engineer in me scoffed aloud. And four inexperienced soldiers could fly it by themselves? Physics anyone?

Oh, and super-ninja Milady...what's up with her?

3 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

No yawns, but about six eye-rolls.

3 out of 5

Cool Factor

Okay, the cool factor (after I overlooked the air ship issues) was pretty awesome. The fight scenes were killer (haha) and my inner ninja came away feeling very satisfied.

4 out of 5

The End

Uh...I was glad it was over.

3 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

As the Three Musketeers...2

As a movie about three guys who are like the French special forces, out to save the realm from the evils of England (because that's what they did), it wasn't bad. I'd maybe give it a 3. But that wasn't what they advertised it as.

2 out of 5

Score=25

That's a Purple Belt

Staying Flexible, Round 2

Fighting is like art—there is a style to it, and everyone’s is just a little bit different.  And since style has such a broad scope, it’s hard to define and talk about unless you delve.  So delve we will!

In Shaolin Kempo, the style of martial arts I get beat up in regularly, we focus on five animals: snake, crane, tiger, leopard and dragon.

Everyone secretly wants to fight like a dragon, but very few actually can or do.  There’s a lot of spinning involved, and I don’t like to turn my back on my opponent, so no dragon for me.  I’m a tiger snake.

Don’t laugh.  It’s true.  I fight straight on, like a tiger, but I wait for just the right moment, and instead of completely mauling my opponents, I dart in, hit a couple of key targets and get back out, like a snake. I’m too short to pull off a real tiger (curse you tall, long limbed people), so this is my preferred method.  But sometimes it doesn’t work, so I have to channel my inner dragon or crane and shift my approach.

When I write, I prefer to do so from a third person, limited, past tense point of view.  No first person, no omniscient POV, certainly no present tense (it hurts my head) and I avoid long chunks of description whenever possible.  Bring on the dialog!

Well, in the name of being flexible, which Sensei keeps telling me I should get more serious about, I decided to write my next novel from the first person POV.  I really love the character’s voice, and I think the intimate view of first person is just the right thing for the story.

The other night I wrote part of the first chapter.  I didn’t realize until half way down the page that I was writing in third person.  Old habits die really hard!

So this is my personal exercise in flexibility.  I shall embrace the first person POV and let my character’s voice shine like the sun!

But no present tense.  Never present tense.

Royal Target

by Traci Hunter Abramson

Synopsis:

When CIA agent Janessa Rogers meets the royal family of Meridia on assignment, she expects to use her skills in linguistics and security detail to protect and serve, but she doesn't expect to find herself engaged to Prince Garrett Fortier, Meridia's most eligible bachelor, as part of the security plan. And she certainly doesn't expect to fall in love with him.

Janessa resists her feelings, fearing conflicts in her personal and professional life, yet when the Prince admits his feigned affection has become genuine she can no longer pretend. Matters of security, society, and spirituality make their unlikely romance even more complex, and escalating political intrigue gives Janessa an excuse to ignore the questions in her heart. But when a terrorist plot against the royal family endangers them both, Janessa and Garrett must face the challenges of loyalty to family, to country, to God — and to love. 

 

I picked this up on CD at the library because it looked interesting (sort of), and it was only 5 discs long. The last few books I tried to listen to on CD were like 18 discs long, so I wanted something short.

I only read the first paragraph above, and was not expecting an LDS novel. Surprise to me. And since I'm not a huge fan of LDS fiction (yes, I'm a sinner) parts of the review may be a bit bias.

Why did I read this book again?

After reading the fist paragraph of the synopsis, I was expecting a spy novel. This really wasn't a spy novel. It was a romance. So the hook was good, but I felt a little bit lied to.

3 out of 5

Characters

The girl, Janessa, tows a very straight line, but the author keeps her believable, which was nice. The prince should have been charming, and probably was in the author's head, but that never totally made it to the paper. I only sort of cared about them. The girl was wishy-washy about pretty much everything, which doesn't seem okay for a CIA agent supposedly in charge of royal security. Although there is no love triangle, so an extra point for that.

3 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Mostly. But not because the author drew me into the characters or the conflict, I cared more about complaining about the writing style to my poor roommate than anything else.

The complete lack of any real emotional reactions longer than a single line of text, and leaving out important things like, “And how did Janessa feel when the price kissed her?” pretty much killed me. Okay, their lips touched...then what? That explosive, electricity feeling? Weak knees? The “Oh crap, what have I done?” None of that is in the text. Sure, I can supply it myself, but as a reader I'm not supposed to have to. Please show me what's going on! Instead the author would go on... “The queen came to say dinner was ready. Janessa and the prince moved inside.”

Oh, and the bad guys were only sort of bad. Real bad guys would have amped the tension level way up, but it feels like this author is shy of having a large body count, which I'm okay with I guess, but if felt contrived.

2 out of 5

Plot Holes

Okay, the plot was sound. Lots of little tendrils of story got wrapped up nicely in the end. Each character did get a chance to do what they needed to do. I can't be harsh here, because the story worked.

Oh, I do have to say that someone in the story actually alludes to the fact that the bad guys only killing one guard was a warning about how serious they were. If only he'd been wearing a red shirt.

4 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

No yawns. Too busy yelling at the CD player in my car about lack of reactions, sensory input, character depth and how fast the reader was going!

3 out of 5

Cool Factor

Having expected spy stuff, and getting mostly frilly romance, I was disappointed. Granted, I've not read anything else by this author, and wasn't expecting an LDS fiction story AND I prefer explosions you can feel and taste to the ones that happen off screen, so my expectations in this area are a little high.

2 out of 5

The End

After a culmination of everything that happened in the story, the end was fine.

4 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I really hate railing on books, but this one just didn't do it for me. Every single conflict was resolved with a distinct lack of effort, and when I wanted to know what was going through a character's head, we were off to walking down the hall or the next scene. Maybe I'm not the right audience. Or maybe I'm a bit more harsh than usual because I just went to a very cool writing conference in which my class would have had quite a few constructive items to talk about concerning this book...and how it needed a prose overhaul.

2 out of 5

Score=23

 

That's a Purple Belt

The Importance of Staying Flexible

While there is a high value connected to kicking someone in the knee, there is also an advantage in being able to kick higher than that.  If you’re flexible enough, you can knock your opponent’s hands away with a kick, get them in the head or stab your toe into the side of the neck…which is very effective, by the way.

But if, like me, flexibility is, shall was say, something that doesn’t come naturally, then your options are restricted to targets below the belt.  Yes, yes, there are plenty of them there, but the top half of the body is a cornucopia of pressure points and soft tissue areas.  And frankly the more targets and options you have in a fight, the better.

Unless making decisions is difficult for you.  If that is the case, just stick to the groin.

So what does it mean to be flexible in writing?  Well, about a thousand different things.  This blog post I will elaborate on one of them.

Be flexible with your brilliant story idea and those scenes you’ve polished to literary perfection that may not actually need to be in the text.

Believe me, I know what hacking and slashing a novel means.  Instead of whacking the jungle with a single machete, I tend to bulldoze through great swaths of stories, leaving them barren and terrified.  And I curse myself, writing and the world in general each time I have to do it.  But you know what?  My story always comes out better.  Always, always, always.

Even if the best scene of description I’ve ever written will now sit on my back up drive for the rest of its life because I totally cut that part of the story out of my novel.  I did it.  I wasn’t happy about it, and sometimes I go back and read it just to prove to myself that it really happened, but I did it.

So don’t get so attached to your baby, er story, that you can’t see past the pretty to the problem.  Keep your mind and imagination flexible.  Trust me, you’ll be grateful for it at some point.

The Cheshire Cheese Cat

A Dickens of a Tale

By Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright 

Synopsis:

Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his hard life dodging fishwives brooms and carriage wheels and trade his damp alley for the warmth of the Cheshire Cheese Inn. When he learns that the innkeeper is looking for a new mouser, Skilley comes up with an audacious scheme to install himself in the famous tavern.

Once established in the inn, Skilley strikes a bargain with Pip, the intelligent mouse-resident, and his fellow mice. Skilley protects the mice and the mice in turn give to Skilley the delectable Cheshire cheese of the inn. Thus begins a most unlikely alliance and friendship

The cat and mouse design a plan to restore Maldwyn wounded raven and faithful guard in the service of Queen Victoria to his rightful place in The Tower, but first they must contend with a tyrannical cook, a mouse-despising barmaid, and an evil tomcat named Pinch. Will the famous author suffering from serious writer s block who visits the Cheshire Cheese pub each day be able to help?

The first line reads: “He was the best of toms. He was the worst of toms.” That alone got me to read the book!

Why did I read this book again?

I actually met one of the authors of this novel, and his enticement of a cheese eating cat, a literate mouse and Charles Dickens struggling to write A Tale of Two Cities all hanging out at the same inn hooked me.

5 out of 5

Characters

Skilley the cheese eating cat is great! Pip the little mouse who figures out how two read and write is charming, the villainous, orange Pinch gives all cats a bad name, and poor Charles Dickens gets distracted by all of their drama. Yes, I liked the characters. This is Middle Grade, so no one is extremely fleshed out, but the relationship between them all is fun.

4 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Every time I see an orange cat I glare at it and wonder if it has been attacking any royal ravens recently. And I'm totally craving cheese right now.

4 out of 5

Plot Holes

The story was sound. It's charming, intense and fun enough language to keep me sucked in. Although if you don't approve of literate mice or angry ravens, don't read this book.

4 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

Once, but it was Sunday afternoon...

The story isn't terribly fast paced, but the chapters of the book are short and punchy, which kept my attention. And there are cute illustrations interspersed throughout the text

4 out of 5

Cool Factor

While the most action that went on in this book was a cat vs cat vs raven fight, I'd have to say that all of the geeky, writers references were well worth it. And I'm certain I missed a bunch of them.

Kids, if they enjoy animal tales, will like this. It's beautifully written and would be great to read aloud.

4 out of 5

The End

The end was great. You have to see it to get it.

5 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

4 out of 5

Score= 34

That's a Brown Belt!